Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz (9 October 1893 – 25 September 1946), better known as Heinrich George (), was a German stage and film actor.

Career

Weimar Republic

George is noted for having spooked the young

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

in his first directing job, a production of

Arnolt Bronnen Arnolt Bronnen (19 August 1895 – 12 October 1959) was an Austrian playwright and director. Life and career Bronnen was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of the Austrian-Jewish writer Ferdinand Bronner and his Christian wife Martha Bronner. B ...

's ''Parricide'' (1922), when he refused to continue working with the director. He appeared in

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

's ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

'' (1927) and '' Dreyfus'' (1930), as well as starring in '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1931). George was an active member of the

Communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

during the Weimar Republic. He worked with theatre director

Erwin Piscator Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator (17 December 1893 – 30 March 1966) was a German theatre director and producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content o ...

and playwright

, both of whom identified with the political left. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H09160, Heinrich George

On 12 October 1932, he changed his legal name to his stage name ''George''. (NB. This document documents ''Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz''s birthday on 1893-10-09, as well as the change of his legal name from ''Schulz'' to ''George'' on 12 October 1932.)

Nazi era

After the Nazi takeover, George was classified as a "non-desirable" actor at first because of his earlier political affiliations and was thus barred from working in cinematic productions. However, he was eventually able to reach an accommodation with the Nazi regime. In 1937, George was designated as a '' Staatsschauspieler'' (i.e. an actor of national importance) and in 1938 was appointed director of the

Schiller Theater The Schiller Theater is a theatre building in Berlin, Germany. It is located in the central Charlottenburg district at Bismarckstraße 110, near Ernst-Reuter-Platz. Opened in 1907, the building served as a second venue for the Prussian State ...

in Berlin. George actively collaborated with the Nazis and agreed to star in Nazi propaganda films such as '' Hitler Youth Quex'' (1933), ''

Jud Süß (, "Süss the Jew") is a 1940 Nazi German historical drama and propaganda film produced by Terra Film at the behest of Joseph Goebbels. It is considered one of the most antisemitic films of all time. The film was directed by Veit Harlan, who ...

'' (1940), and '' Kolberg'' (1945) as well as appearing in numerous newsreels. George had a stocky build and a Berlin accent which made him readily recognizable to German audiences. George's prestige as a leading actor of the day made him an "extraordinarily valuable catch for the Nazis." Cooke and Silberman describe him as "the actor most closely tied with fascist fantasies of the autocratic and the populist leader".

Postwar

Although Heinrich George had been a member of the Communist Party of Germany before the Nazi takeover, he was nonetheless interned as a Nazi collaborator by Soviet occupying forces at the

NKVD special camp Nr. 7 NKVD special camp Nr. 7 was a NKVD special camp that operated in Weesow until August 1945 and in Sachsenhausen from August 1945 until the spring of 1950. It was used by the Soviet occupying forces to detain those viewed as enemy of the people ...

Sachsenhausen Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

where he died in 1946. The cause of his death was starvation, even though official reports stated that he died "after an appendix operation".

Personal life

Heinrich George married the German actress

Berta Drews Berta Emilie Helene Drews (; 19 November 1901 – 10 April 1987) was a German stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films from 1933 to 1983. She was married to actor Heinrich George. The couple had two sons, including actor ...

. They had two sons: Jan George and actor

Götz George Götz George (; 23 July 1938 – 19 June 2016) was a German actor, the son of actor couple Berta Drews and Heinrich George. His arguably best-known role is that of Duisburg detective Horst Schimanski in the TV crime series ''Tatort''. Early lif ...

Filmography

References

External links

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Virtual History - Bibliography and Tobacco cards
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Heinrich 1893 births 1946 deaths Actors from Szczecin People from the Province of Pomerania German male film actors German male silent film actors German male stage actors People who died in NKVD special camp Nr. 7 Deaths by starvation 20th-century German male actors